The federal government has initiated a fresh legal action against the former chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, filing a four-count corruption charge totaling 15 million naira. The development carries significant political weight, as Umar is the former justice who presided over a high-stakes judicial panel in 2011 that tried and ultimately acquitted President Bola Tinubu of asset declaration fraud, later revealing he had faced immense external pressure to secure a conviction.
According to court documents filed at the Maitama Division of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, the government alleges that Umar used his position as tribunal chairman to divert millions of naira from CCT contractors to his immediate family members. The prosecution claims that in October 2021, Umar instructed Kurchmives International Limited, a firm subcontracted to paint the CCT headquarters, to deposit 5.5 million naira into a Keystone Bank account belonging to his wife, Zulaihatu Danladi Umar.
The filings further detail that in January 2025, an additional 6 million naira was allegedly transferred into Mrs. Umar’s Zenith Bank account by Portal Realities Limited, a subsidiary of JTF Global Links, which had secured the contract to digitize the CCT’s management records. The same firm is also accused of funding the education of Umar’s children, with the prosecution noting a October 2024 transaction of over 2 million naira wired to Baze University to cover tuition fees for his daughter, Faiza Danladi Umar, alongside a separate payment of 2,043,916 naira for his son, Yakubu Danladi Umar.
The formal corruption charges follow Umar’s controversial removal from office in November 2024. His ouster was spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, a close ally of the president, who cited numerous petitions accusing the former tribunal head of official misconduct and persistent absenteeism. Although several civil society organizations initially challenged the legality of his dismissal in federal court, the lawsuit was subsequently withdrawn. The corruption case is set for its opening hearing before Justice U.P. Kekemeke.